Florida is preparing to carry out its record-breaking 13th execution this year – on Tuesday, September 30, Victor Jones is scheduled to be killed. Victor is an intellectually disabled Black man who survived horrific abuse at the Okeechobee School for boys. He was beaten with leather straps, called racist slurs, locked in solitary, and forced to witness rapes. This trauma left him suicidal and hearing voices. Florida’s own newspapers are sounding the alarm, with the Sun Sentinel Editorial Board writing: “Now, after stealing his future as a child, the State seeks to execute Mr. Jones.”
For decades, courts dismissed Victor’s childhood abuse as “not credible.” But in January of this year, the Florida Attorney General formally recognized him as a victim of crimes committed by state officials at Okeechobee, making him eligible for financial compensation through the Dozier & Okeechobee School Victim Compensation Fund. To receive that designation, Victor had to prove not only that he was confined there during the specified time period, but also that he suffered physical, emotional, or sexual abuse.
This recognition is new and material evidence that Victor’s jurors never heard. Yet in an unreasonably rushed process, the courts denied Victor the chance to present it or even obtain critical public records. Incredibly, during the warrant process, the Florida Attorney General pursuing his execution falsely claimed that Victor never proved he was abused at the school. They had in their sole possession evidence that he was, refused to turn it over, then tried to say he failed to prove it. This gamesmanship has zero place in our justice system.
Yesterday, the Florida Supreme Court denied Victor’s final state appeals — rejecting his evidence of intellectual disability and the State’s own recognition that he was brutally abused as a child in Florida custody. Despite this, there are still things you can do:
- Sign the petition for Victor – we will deliver your signatures to the Governor’s office next week.
- Send Governor DeSantis a message. Tell him to stop Victor’s execution.
- Attend a vigil or protest, either with us across from Florida State Prison, online, or at one of the many events around the state.
- If you live in Florida, contact your House Representatives and State Senators. Remind them: in 2024, they passed the Dozier and Okeechobee School Victim Compensation Program, apologizing for “a unique and shameful chapter” in our history. Executing Victor betrays that promise. Urge them to speak out now.
Florida cannot have it both ways. It cannot admit to torturing children, pay reparations, and then argue those same survivors deserve death. This execution would expose the hollowness of Florida’s apology — and deepen its legacy of cruelty, hypocrisy, and state-sanctioned violence.
Onward,
The FADP Team
P.S. Once you have taken action for Victor, please take a moment to sign and share this petition for Samuel Smithers who is scheduled to be executed in Florida on October 14.